Ukraine is the largest country in Europe, excluding Russia. The nation of 46 million stretches across the fertile plains and rolling hills of Eastern Europe, and was known as the "breadbasket" of the former Soviet Union. In the early 1930s, Ukraine lost millions in a catastrophic famine, and in 1986, suffered the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. In the post Soviet era, and particularly since the 2005 Orange Revolution, Ukraine has aligned itself with the EU and Western interests and hopes to join the former in 2015.

Image courtesy of the CIA World Factbook.